Senior Photonics Engineer, Free-Space Optics

The Role

K2's ambitions extend beyond the satellite bus. By designing and operating our own spacecraft and regularly manifesting hardware to orbit, K2 is uniquely positioned to develop, test, and deploy ambitious, “limit-of-physics” optical and photonic payloads across MEO, GEO, cislunar, and deep space on unprecedented timelines. The satellite bus is the platform – the payloads are the mission.

As a Senior Photonics Engineer focused on free-space optics, your role is to define how K2 measures and models the atmosphere, and how our optical hardware is designed to work through it. You will work at the intersection of free-space optical communications, adaptive optics, and integrated photonics, and own the full loop from experiment to model, across a ladder of experiments: tabletop emulators that reproduce atmospheric turbulence in the lab, benches that put our optical hardware (free-space receivers, wavefront correction, and photonic chips) inside that emulated channel, outdoor links across real turbulence on rooftops and test ranges, and occasional campaigns at mountaintop optical ground stations and observatories. You will own K2's atmospheric channel modeling and decide how measured data flows into requirements for PIC, test, and payload teams. You will work closely with PIC designers, test engineers, and K2's optical payload team, and as K2's payloads grow, you will also consult on remote-sensing and other payloads that look through the atmosphere.

Responsibilities

• Design and build tabletop experiments that emulate optical propagation through turbulent media, using spatial light modulators, phase plates, and phase-screen generation; validate them against target statistics (Cn², r0, scintillation, beam wander, wavefront error, fade statistics).
• Put receivers in the loop (free-space optics, fiber and photonic-chip front ends, and their control electronics) and measure coupling efficiency, fading, bit error rate, and control-loop bandwidth.
• Characterize wavefront sensing and correction hardware (Shack-Hartmann sensors, deformable mirrors, SLMs) alongside photonic-integrated alternatives.
• Take experiments out of the lab: outdoor horizontal-path links on rooftops and test ranges, then night campaigns at mountaintop optical ground stations and observatories, including site coordination, laser-safety approvals, equipment transport, night operations, and data reduction.
• Own K2's optical propagation and channel models long-term: build them in Python, calibrate them continuously against lab and field data, quantify their uncertainty, and turn the results into requirements.
• Define the experiment roadmap: decide which measurements most reduce model uncertainty, and set the lab-to-field test plan.
• Automate experiments on the team's shared test framework so lab and field data share one pipeline.
• Mentor engineers and technicians supporting the experiments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in optics, physics, electrical engineering, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of hands-on free-space optics experience in free-space optical communications, adaptive optics, or atmospheric propagation (a relevant PhD counts toward this).
• Led free-space optical experiments end to end: designing and aligning benches, taking data, and correlating it with models.
• Working knowledge of optical turbulence and propagation theory (Cn², Fried parameter, Rytov variance), with Python for modeling and analysis.

Nice to Have

• MS or PhD in optics, physics, or a related field.
• Adaptive optics experience in astronomy, beam control, or free-space optical communications.
• Experience with photonic integrated circuits, photonic lanterns, or fiber coupling through turbulence.
• Pointing, acquisition, and tracking (fast steering mirrors, beacon tracking) or optical link performance analysis (BER, SNR, scintillation and fading).
• Spatial light modulators, deformable or fast steering mirrors, or phase-plate turbulence emulators.
• Field campaigns at an observatory or outdoor optical test range, including night operations.
• Remote sensing, lidar, or atmospheric characterization instruments.
• Wave-optics simulation tools (e.g., AOTools, WaveProp) and Zemax.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $150,000 - $220,000 + equity in the company
• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks